In the Dreaming

I stood atop an orange boulder, looking over the unfamiliar terrain. The purple sunset was tinting the entire scene before me. I’d entered an alien dreamscape, following Master Jihan’s instructions. For a moment, I wondered if I was the first student to succeed in starting the quest, until I considered the time I was wasting by not completing the trials the Master had set for us.

There were two of us whom the Master had chosen for this one final graduating test. He called us his prize pupils who showed the most promise. I was surprised to be one of the chosen candidates.

As we were being prepped for the ceremony, our Teacher informed us that we would be graded based on the order in which we completed the trial. Then he uncovered our target, a sleeping Yue Ling, whom we all crushed. Then he motioned for us to begin.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I immediately jumped inside her dreaming mind. The entry had been a little rough as I’d bounced across the foreign landscape and collided with a dam. I caused the first two boards to crack, moving them out of place as I flipped over into the bubbly river on the other side.

Swimming towards the shoreline, slicing my way through the strange waters, caused the bubbles that I came in contact with to burst. Each one released the sounds of voices, conversations, which at first startled me, bringing me to a near stop. Thanks to Master Jihan, I soon remembered this was how our daily memories were brought into our dreaming world – which made me realize that with each popped bubble, Yue’s dreams were becoming very strange and frantic. I was thankful for both myself and Yue when I pulled myself to shore.

I walked downstream, looking for the first task on the Master’s list. For a brief moment, I wondered how he knew what challenges we each would face inside the beautiful maiden’s sleeping mind. I shrugged it off and continued on my way.

After walking what felt like two miles in this dreamscape, I neared the top of a hill. A young girl’s weeping brought me to a stop. Looking under the shadows of the trees, I saw a young girl curled up, crying into her arms. Deciding I had time, I went to see if I could soothe this dream before it turned into a nightmare.

Only, I was too late. The girl was a young Yue Ling, and she had just watched a foreign warlord capture her village. She had already witnessed a nightmare and was struggling to wake from it because of the ceremonial drink our Master had given her. As I listened to her tale, I knew I had to help soothe this dream.

Taking young, dream Yue by the hand, we walked towards the village. I reassured her that I’d help her. Once there, I continued towards the center of town, where I could hear the most noise coming. There I found a samurai warlord proudly crowing over his latest conquest.

The daimyo was pacing back and forth in the center of a small crowd of villagers, and as I watched, he grabbed a man by the hair and dragged him towards a post buried in the ground. Telling young Yue to stay where she was, I ran forward towards a burning cottage. Once on the other side of the building, out of the girl’s eyesight, I shifted into my dream avatar.

Wearing a mentally woven yoroi, I stalked forward to defend this dream town. I could hear the Master’s voice repeating the first trial I must face, “Fire and Brimstone,” and for a fleeting moment I wondered if this was it. No matter, I’d deal with this dream as I would any nightmare.

As I neared the warlord, I began to see familiar features about him. The shape of his chin, the cut of his hair, the way he held his shoulders, and of course his wickedly impish grin. I knew I was seeing Ren Yamamoto’s avatar in a dream for the first time.

I called out Ren’s name, and the small crowd parted to allow me through. Walking forward, I strode with my katana at the ready. I told him he was insulting the Master and his teachings by behaving in this manner.

Ren laughed and motioned forward. As I stepped into the center of the crowd, he threw a flaming ball towards my head. As I ducked to avoid it, I was hit in the gut by another flaming sphere. With gasps, the villagers ran towards the safety of the cliffs.

The fight was on. Swinging my narrow blade, I blocked flame upon flame. Advancing, I brought down a storm of lightning bolts around Ren, creating the bars of a makeshift cell. He and I were evenly matched, blow by blow. He took what I dished out, and my body accepted what he threw my way. It seemed the battle would last forever. Shaking the ground under his feet, raising it under mine, dropping a boulder on his head, and then he’d have a dragon appear. We used all the tricks the Master had taught us. We used some that the Master hadn’t taught us.

Tired, we both stood staring at each other, refusing to give up. Suddenly, we heard a loud rumbling. Shocked, we both looked over our shoulders towards the noise, and we watched a white wall of bubbles rushing our way. The Memory River had burst from its dam and was rushing this way. Taking advantage of the moment of surprise, I rushed forth and drove my sword into Ren, never once thinking about the waking world. Jumping back, I ran up the hill towards the cliffs. Turning, I watched as the wall of water came down on Ren, covered him, and then he was gone.

As I listened to the villagers cheer and watched young Yue smile, I began to fade from the dream and return to my own mind. Turning, I saw Master standing over Ren Yamamoto’s body, covering it completely with a robe.

I guess it’s true. You can die in your dreams.